The present invention relates to a banknote distributing and dispensing mechanism provided in a banknote distributing and dispensing machine which is installed adjacent to a counter or the like of a bank and is adapted to distribute banknotes to a plurality of dispensing port mechanisms.
Conventionally, apparatuses which are known as teller's machines are installed adjacent to the counters of financial institutions such as banks, and such a teller's machine is disposed between or among a plurality of (for instance, two) tellers at a counter, and automatically supplies one teller with banknotes in the amount and denomination specified by the teller, or automatically effects handling operations such as the counting and rearranging of deposited banknotes.
A banknote dispensing mechanism in the aforementioned teller's machine generally has the function of supplying either of two neighboring tellers with banknotes in a specified amount by virtue of the operation of a dispensing machine body for dispensing banknotes in the amount and denomination specified, a dispensing port disposed between two counters and adapted to deliver banknotes fed from the machine body, and a distributing mechanism disposed between the dispensing port and the machine body and adapted to selectively distribute the banknotes to one of the two dispensing ports.
It is necessary for the machine body, the distributing mechanism, and the dispensing port of the aforementioned machine each to be provided with a conveying mechanism for receiving and dispensing banknotes, and these conveying mechanisms are each provided with such driving sources as motors for the driving thereof. A multiplicity of these driving sources occupy a large space inside a teller's machine, thereby restricting the number of banknotes that can be accommodated and resulting in increasing the cost of the machine.
In addition, if the system of supplying banknotes from one dispensing machine body to two dispensing ports is applied to an automatic cash dispenser operated by clients of the bank, there is a problem since a multiplicity of driving sources become necessary as in the case of the aforementioned teller's machine.